Sunday, December 17, 2017

KISS co-founder and bassist Gene Simmons is being sued by an unnamed California broadcaster for sexual misconduct following an alleged incident that took place during a recent on-camera interview in Highland, CA.

The San Bernardino Sun reports the suit, filed December 15, alleges the 68-year-old rocker made unwarranted sexual advances during a November 1 interview at the San Manuel Casino location of a new Rock & Brews restaurant with co-owners Simmons and bandmate Paul Stanley.

According to the lawsuit, during an interview which occurred on a couch in a designated “green room,” Simmons reached over and grabbed the woman’s hand and “forcefully placed it on his knee and held it on his knee.” The lawsuit states the woman immediately removed her hand from Simmons’ knee, but he continued his “unwanted, unwarranted sexual advances” by reaching for the woman’s hand again.

“Defendant Simmons turned standard interview questions into sexual innuendos, which made plaintiff Jane Doe extremely uncomfortable,” according to the lawsuit, noting that Simmons grabbed the woman’s hand again, made a cooing sound and said she “must use lotion” before making another sexual innuendo. He then “forcibly flicked/struck” the woman in the middle of her throat, then provided an “incoherent explanation” for doing it after noticing the woman’s shock, according to the lawsuit.

Following the interview, the woman posed with Simmons for a promotional photograph. That’s when Simmons “reached toward Plaintiff Doe’s buttocks and touched it,” according to the lawsuit. “Again, Plaintiff Doe kept her composure and discreetly moved away,” the lawsuit states. “They took the pictures, but Plaintiff Doe declined the invitation to ‘stay around.'”

Simmons responded to the lawsuit via his social media sites, writing, “Friends, I intend to defend myself against any alleged charges you may have been reading about in the media. For the record, I did not assault the person making these accusations in the manner alleged in the complaint or harm her in any way. I am conferring with my lawyers with the aim of vigorously countering these allegations. And I look forward to my day in court where the evidence will prove my innocence.”

KISS wrapped up their 2017 live schedule last month with a series of performances and appearances on the 7th annual Kiss Kruise, which departed from New Orleans, LA on the Norwegian Pearl and made stops in Cozumel and Costa Maya, Mexico.